A Nice Time
by AWolfAmongSwans
Summary: When Alex attends a family member's wedding, she runs into an unexpected guest at the reception. [cross-posted from AO3]


The beautifully decorated banquet hall was abustle with people, chatter, and music as the bride and groom made their rounds to visit the wedding guests.

Alex sat alone at her designated table watching it all unfold as she sipped at her flute of champagne.

Kara had been unable to attend there cousin's wedding after a last minute emergency at Catco, so Alex was forced to partake in the endeavor alone, much to her displeasure. It wasn't that she hated weddings per se, it was more of the socializing aspect of it. Dealing with relatives you haven't seen since you were seven, family friends you've never even heard of, yet somehow know _a lot_ about you... She was already worn out from the whole ordeal. It was like a family get together at the holiday's, but on steroids.

The entire night, a tiny part of her had secretly hoped that an alien would attack National City and she'd be forced to leave, but alas, no such luck.

Fighting off aliens would be a much easier task than enduring the same line of questioning that she had been bombarded with all night long. _"Are you married yet?" "Are you seeing anyone?" "When do you plan on settling down?"_

One distant relative had been so bold as to ask if she, _"Still had any eggs left or had the well already dried up?"_ Alex shuddered in her seat as she recalled the uncomfortable conversation. The brunette quickly realized that wedding's were the Superbowl of awkward questions.

She wasn't sure how much more of it she would be able to take before she'd suddenly put her DEO training to good use on someone. But she was determined to not ruin her cousin's wedding, so in order to keep her cool, she was going to need a much stronger drink than just champagne.

"Do my eyes deceive me, or is that none other than the lovely Agent Danvers that I see."

The brunette looked up to find Maxwell Lord standing in front of her, looking quite dapper dressed in a dark grey suit. Of all the people she expected to run into here, he was definitely not one of them. But believe it or not, Max was actually a welcomed change of pace from the horde of nosy relatives that she had been contending with that evening.

"Max." She greeted with a nod and a tip of her glass as she took another sip of her champagne.

"I didn't know the DEO worked weddings."

"We don't. I'm here as a guest, my cousin's the bride."

He nodded and made a noise of confirmation as he sat down in one of the empty seats at the table.

"What about you? Wedding's don't exactly seem like your type of thing."

Max gave a wry smile. "You know me well, Alex."

"A hazard of the job unfortunately." She quipped with a smirk.

He chuckled and sat back in his chair before explaining. "Anderson J. Cartwright. He was the first man to invest in Lord Technologies back when it was just starting out, his grandson is the groom. Since I was invited, it only seemed right I attend the joyous occasion."

"So you do know how to do the right thing sometimes." Alex teased.

Max smirked and gave a slight shrug. "Occasionally."

As Alex placed her glass back down on the table, Max noticed that it was now empty.

"Care for another drink?" He inquired, as he stood up.

The brunette nodded. "I'll come with you. I find that if I'm alone for more that a couple of minutes, I tend to attract the unwanted pity from relatives for showing up here stag." She was even getting pitying looks from strangers, too. Everyone refused to believe she came single by choice, it was frustrating.

When she stood up from her seat and Max caught sight of the dress she was wearing, his mouth fell open slightly and he couldn't help but stare.

Alex smirked in amusement at his reaction. She had to admit, she rather enjoyed rendering the usually unflappable Maxwell Lord stunned and speechless.

She snapped her fingers in front of him and he regained his focus, then offered her his arm to escort her over the bar. Alex stared at his offered arm for moment, contemplating. Normally she'd blow right past it, but tonight she decided to toss him a bone since she was partially using him as a buffer of sorts. Not to mention, it was only a short walk over there anyway.

"I'm hiding out myself." Max admitted, as he ordered their drinks from the bartender.

"From who?" She asked curiously, as she leaned her hip against the side of the bar.

"Drunk and lonely bridesmaids."

Alex scoffed and shook her head dismissively. "Oh, what a burden you have to bare. I'm _so_ sorry." She mocked, as the bartender placed her drink down on the counter.

"I thought that was the whole reason men even attend weddings, to pray on desperate single women."

Max shook his head. "Far to easy. I much prefer a challenge." He confessed as he stared at her with an intense look in his eyes.

Alex felt her cheeks warm slightly, but before she could respond, she spotted another familiar face in the crowd heading in their direction.

She muttered an inaudible string of swear words under her breath, before swiftly hiding behind Max. He peered back at her curiously, rather confused by her sudden behavior.

"That's my Great Aunt Trudy," Alex started to explain quietly. "she's been trying to set me up with her podiatrist for months now."

"Bunion problem, Agent Danvers?" He teased impishly, in spite knowing exactly what she meant.

She smacked him playfully on the back. "No!" She hissed. "For a date."

Max chuckled. "It would appear then, that I have some competition for your affection."

Alex rolled her eyes and sarcastically replied, "Yes, because I dream of nothing more than being swept off my feet by a podiatrist."

He laughed. "Well, then who am I to stand in the way of true love." Max jested as he started to step away, but Alex quickly pulled him back before he could get far.

"Would you quit fooling around and just stand still." The brunette chastised, still using him as a makeshift barrier, in order to hide from her aunt.

Slowly peaking out over his shoulder, she checked to see if the coast was finally clear. When she no longer saw her aunt, she let out a sigh of relief and stepped back into view.

Max turned around to face her. "I know how to get her off your case, at least, for the evening anyway."

Alex folded her arms over her chest and looked up at him. "How?"

"Dance with me."

Alex raised her brows in surprise and tilted her head. "You can't be serious."

"Why not? Who would dare try to set you up with another man when you're dancing with Maxwell Lord?"

She frowned. As much as she hated to admit it, he wasn't wrong. Her whole family in attendance would probably get off her case the entire _night_ if they saw her dancing with Max.

Though she wasn't thrilled with the idea, she could deal with once dance, couldn't she?

He held his hand out to her. "Shall we?"

Alex heaved a heavy sigh. "Fine."

She placed her hand in his and he lead her out on to the dance floor. Alex then slipped her hand onto his shoulder, while Max placed his hand on her waist, and their remaining hands came together.

"I should warn you," She started. "If your hand goes any lower than that, I am armed."

Max chuckled in amusement at the threat and gave her a playful grin.

"I can only imagine where you're hiding a gun under that dress." He commented, briefly eyeing her figure.

"Who says I'm carrying only one?" She teased coolly.

Max smirked. "Well color me intrigued."

After that, the two fell into a comfortable silence and simply listened to the music the band was playing as they danced. Though Alex would never admit to it, it was actually rather nice. It had been years since she had slow danced with anyone and she had strangely missed the feeling.

Neither was sure how long they stayed out there for, but when Alex's feet eventually grew tired, they retired back to the table from earlier. And when she slipped off her heels, Max took the opportunity to playfully goad her about the podiatrist again, which lead to her almost throwing her shoe at him.

No more offers of being fixed up with anyone came her way that night, after the two had taken to the dance floor. Though, Alex had soon forgotten that was her original reason for agreeing to it in the first place.

The evening had started to wind down and it was getting late. Alex had work the next morning, as did Max, so they found themselves calling it a night and starting to head their separate ways.

"You know, this evening wasn't as awful as I thought it would be." Alex admitted on her way out.

The tech billionaire made a face. "I'll try to take that as a compliment."

She shook her head. "Sorry. I just meant that, when Kara canceled, I expected the night to be a bust. But, I actually had kind of a nice time."

Max nodded. "I had only intend to make a quick appearance and give my best wishes to the bride and groom, but it seems I got distracted." He added with a smug grin as he looked at her.

Alex rolled her eyes and chose to ignore the comment.

"Need a ride back to the city?" He offered as his car pulled up in front of the venue.

She declined his offer with a wave of her hand. "I've got one, but thanks."

He gave a small nod, but lingered there for a moment, not quite wanting to leave yet. The moment lasted until Alex's ride had arrived and the driver honked the horn to get her attention.

She turned to Max and gave him a small smile.

"Goodnight, Max."

"Goodnight, Alex."


End file.
